New BoE policymaker Stheeman says Brexit, real estate top focus

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Brexit and high asset valuations, especially for real estate, should be the two major areas of work for the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee this year, the committee’s newest member said on Tuesday.

“While the potential risks to financial stability arising from Brexit and from asset valuations have not fully crystallised yet I suspect that they will both need to be among the major areas of focus for the FPC in 2018,” Elisabeth Stheeman told parliament’s Treasury Committee.

Banks, insurers and asset managers operating in Britain are already applying for licences to work in the European Union after Brexit in March 2019, forcing them to decide how many people to move.

“It’s important to create some kind of certainty for firms, otherwise they may be pushed into taking decisions,” Stheeman said.

She also said the FPC does not urgently need any extra powers to direct regulators to take action, such as increase capital requirements. (Reporting by Huw Jones and David Milliken)